GAT Ambush (O:FB)
Reference Book: Star Wars Saga Edition Galaxy at War Main Page: The Invasion of Tirahnn SETUP: Having received orders from the Republic to ambush a convoy of GATs, the heroes finally reach the ambush point to see the Vehicles rolling along before them. The four GATs are placed in a roughly square formation in the middle of the road. The four B1-Series Battle Droid Squads are placed around the GATs: one squad in the front, two squads between the GATs, and one squad to the rear. The ambush point that the Republic has chosen prevents the GATs from lining up effective shots on the heroes, so the GATs only use their Battlefield Effects (Typically Shock and Awe). Moreover, the heroes have a particular objective in this encounter: placing the signal beacons on the GATs. Planting a signal beacon on a GAT is not a simple process; each beacon must be attached to a Vehicle, which requires a character to be adjacent to the GAT and to spend a Standard Action to attach the beacon. The beacon cannot be attached from range (Such as with the Use the Force Skill), because the beacon must be attached to the hull of the GAT in such a way that it can use the metal of the hull to boost the signal that the Republic will use to target it. Read-Aloud Text When the heroes reach the ambush point, read the following text aloud: Moving down the street slowly with a deep mechanical hum are four Separatist tanks. Marching alongside the tanks are four squads of Battle Droids, watching for attackers. The tanks seem to be having trouble maneuvering, and it's clear that their firing capability is quite limited. Conclusion If any of the heroes manages to destroy one or more of the GATs, this counts as if the heroes had planted a signal beacon on that tank. If the heroes manage to tag all four tanks with signal beacons, they need only get clear of the area before the Republic opens fire. All four tanks are destroyed by precision laser fire from The Solidarity, and the heroes are successful in their mission. If for some reason any of the tanks manage to escape, the heroes fail in their mission. Encounter Setup The GAT Ambush encounter has the following setup: * 4 B1-Series Battle Droid Squads * 4 GATs Tactics Due to the nature of the ambush, the heroes can prevent the GATs from turning their weapons on the heroes directly. Each of the four GATs uses the Shock and Awe Battlefield Effect each round, effectively blanketing the area of the combat encounter in their fire effect. During the fight, the GATs slow to a crawl, not wanting to be separated from their escorts; however, if all the Battle Droid squads are defeated, the GATs begin moving again, using their entire round for All-Out Movement. If the heroes do not plant all of the signal beacons within 3 rounds after all of the Battle Droid squads are defeated, the GATs exit the narrow streets and gain the ability to turn their weapons on the heroes once more. Each Battle Droid squad tries to take full advantage of the fact that the Droids' ranged attacks have a Splash radius, particularly targeting heroes standing adjacent to one another. As the heroes attempt to move through the tanks planting the beacons, the Battle Droid squads start creating lines of fire to prevent the heroes from moving quickly from one tank to the next. Features of the Area The narrow streets in which this encounter takes place have seen some combat earlier in the invasion, but most buildings remain standing and intact. Any of the squares filled with debris counts as Difficult Terrain; most of the debris is large enough that it can be used as Cover. The buildings along this narrow street are small shops and storage facilities, each belonging to one of Tirahnn's merchants. Most are locked and have Standard Metal Doors (DR 10, 50 Hit Points, Damage Threshold 30, Strength DC 50, Break DC 35), and inside the heroes find a variety of mundane items and trade goods. Each building is roughly two stories tall, with about 4 squares (6 meters) separating the roof from the street below.